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It was also one of four restaurants in Northern Ireland to make La Liste, which ranks the world’s top restaurants using scores from more than 200 leading guidebooks and websites.

But Dutch brothers Joery and Jasper Castel, who also won a highly coveted Three AA Rosettes, have announced their Bangor journey is coming to an end.

Joery Castel

Speaking to Belfast Live , Joery said it had been a hard decision, but last service would be on October 30 - when their lease is up on the building.

"I started the restaurant with my brother Jasper over eight years ago, he took a step back last year after he became a dad," said Joery.

"We got a restaurant manager (Jonathan Quinn) in and everything was hunky-dory, going smoothly. But I worried if we had a quiet weekend and I worried if it was a very busy weekend.

"There's a lot of things that could keep you awake at night when you have a restaurant.

"It just happened we had to renew the lease for the restaurant because we lease it off the council and one day I woke up and asked if it was worth it.

"I have had a great time, I have learned so much and had such a good experience for the last eight years, but I do not get to see my girlfriend a lot. I do not get to spend a lot of time with my family.

"I thought, there's more to life than working 70 hours a week running a restaurant. I thought with the lease renewal coming up it was a good moment to call it a day.

"We had a massive year last year, we got our Three AA Rosettes, we were listed in the best 1,000 restaurants in the world and we were listed in the top 50 in the Sunday Times list.

One of the Boat House's famous dishes - Spiced lamb, pea creme, dried olives and puffed barley and tomato jellies

"There was one thing after another. It could not get any better, we were just on such a high. I think it's maybe like being a football player and you call it a day when you are on top of the world.

"It is time for family, friends and having a little bit more of a life than I have had for the last eight years for myself.

"I do not know where my path is going to go."

But Joery said he and the team are determined to finish on a high and will be going back to their roots for the last three months offering customers a tasting menu of their favourite dishes over the years.

He added that the hardest thing was telling the staff about the imminent closure, some of whom have been with him since the beginning.

Joery is currently working in the kitchen, only accompanied by a student chef, the way he started eight years ago.

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"From now we are doing a set tasting menu, seven courses, to make sure we have a good service and we can provide the right quality of food we want to provide.

"We want to treat regulars and everyone else who has been with us for the last eight years and serve them really good dishes we have done over the past.

"We want to finish off with our favourite dishes and some of our recent favourites too. The menu will change every two weeks to give people the chance to experience us one more time."

Regulars have already booked their table for the final day of service on October 30 with many booking in three or four times before the closure.

Another Boat House dish

"We want to make it a three month celebration of some of the best food we have made over the past eight years," he said.

For now the brothers hope another restaurant may take over the premises so the building is not left unoccupied.

"It's a lovely location and beautiful building and there's interest from one or two people, we hope one of them will make an offer we can not refuse," he added.

The brothers told their customers of their decision to close the restaurant in an emotional statement on Facebook.

"With heavy hearts we would like to inform you that after 8 years in The Boat House we've decided to call it a day," they wrote.

"We would like to sincerely thank each and every one of you for supporting us from the outset, through all our high and low times (though we have had far more highs!) We've loved every minute of our Bangor journey. It's been an absolute pleasure meeting and looking after all who have come through our doors."